Reef Delegation`s `Dreamboat` Goes On Auction Block

Palm Beach County officials are eyeing the 120-foot rust bucket of a freighter as the leading candidate for the first major structure in the county`s fledgling artificial reef program.

And they are hoping that the Eidsvag, unlike the Mercedes, doesn`t slip away before they can buy and sink it.

With a $15,000 purchase order in hand, a Palm Beach delegation will join several hundred other bidders at the Port of Miami Wednesday morning for a General Services Administration auction of conficated property.

``I`m hoping we won`t get much competition for the ship,`` said Bob Clinger, of the county engineering department. ``Steve (Sommerville of Broward County`s artificial reef program) said they weren`t all that interested.``

The Eidsvag is one of about 150 yachts, sailboats, ships and fishing boats -- plus several cars and airplanes -- the government is seeking to sell. Its main attraction to the county is that it is docked at Millings Marina in Lake Park, which would make for a short trip to sea.

Although government documents list the 1941 freighter as having a 290 Caterpillar V-8 engine, it is unlikely the aging ship will ever sail again under its own power, officials said.

The expense of tugboat services to haul the ship to sea should greatly reduce any bidding competition. It`s for the same frugal reason that Palm Beach County would rather capture the Eidsvag than the 120-foot Vera, which is docked several hundred miles to the north in Green Cove Springs.

``I don`t think this ship can be re-commissioned,`` said Clinger, who is coordinating the artificial reef effort.

According to Lloyd`s Registry of Ships, the Eidsvag was built in 1941 in Lowestoft, England, a North Sea community, by Richard`s Iron Works Ltd. The registry lists seven names prior to Eidsvag, the earliest being Empire Sound in 1943.

Sjaholm, one of two names listed for 1968, still can be seen on the ship`s hull.

The ship once was capable of traveling at 8.5 knots, with its engine consuming 1.5 tons of fuel a day. Its gross weight was listed as 289 gross tons. It has one hole, two hatches and two derricks.

If all goes according to the county`s plan, the Eidsvag will come to rest in a watery grave offshore and become a haven for young gamefish and reef fishes, attracting sportsfishermen and skin divers.

One prospect the county is investigating is an auction of nautical equipment and keepsakes off the ship, such as portholes and other decorative items. Any revenue could be used to offset the expense of cleaning and sinking the ship, suggested Jim Barry, a county Health Department official on the committee.

The Artificial Reef Committee has a budget of $40,000 for the year, half of which is slated for obtaining, cleaning and sinking a ship. The other half will go for hauling and dumping other manmade reef material at the eight designated sites.

The committee wants to establish two artificial reefs at each of the county`s four major inlets: Boca, Boynton, Lake Worth and Jupiter.

In late September, the county sank a Rolls Royce off the town of Palm Beach. The luxury car won`t make much of a contribution to marine habitat, but generated a lot of publicity for the program.

Clinger said AT&T officials have contacted the county, offering 1,500 to 2,000 heavy gauge metal spools which could be welded together into a reef structure.

Other offerings include surplus Army tanks, armored personnel carriers and a missile launcher. Clinger said nine of the seven-ton personnel carriers are available in Red Bluff, Ark., and can be shipped by rail to the Port of Palm Beach for about $2,500 each.

Part or all of the expense might be offset by donations. The county has received offers of donations for two of the nine.

However, the county will have to resolve complications in the handling of the military hardware. Questions of how the vehicles can be unloaded and stored, and problems of unloading the equipment at sea, have been raised.

Storage of all material donations is a question mark. The county has an agreement to use Florida Power & Light Co. land at the port, but learned late last week the city of Riviera Beach has raised questions of zoning.

The reefs committee agreed to have a subcommittee screen offers of material for donation to determine suitability, whether it will require extensive cleaning and what problems the material might pose to crews trying to deposit it on the ocean`s floor.